Rins: It's like all the riders are retired!
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Whenever they eventually retire, the 2020 MotoGP grid will have no excuse for not knowing what life would be like without racing.The coronavirus pandemic means that none of the premier-class field has turned a wheel on their grand prix prototypes since the end of the Qatar test on February 24.Indeed, most of them haven’t ridden any kind of motorcycle since.The current best-case scenario is to begin grand prix racing in July, which would mean they had spent 4-5 months off their MotoGP machines.But it could easily turn into 6, 7 or more months, depending on when and how travel restrictions and social distancing measures are eventually eased.”I’m at home with nothing much to do because all the things I usually do at home during the year, I finished in two days!” said Alex Rins.”So if I’m not training, I’m just with my girlfriend, playing on the Playstation or playing with the dogs.”A couple of times I’ve said to myself, ‘wow, Alex, after a lot of years – I hope – when you don’t race any more, what will you do?’ Now it’s like all the riders are retired! Inside their homes with nothing to do.”When I retire, I don’t know what I’m going to do!”Fortunately for Rins, he is one of the few riders to have already confirmed his place on the 2021 grid, via a new two-year contract extension with Suzuki.”We started to talk with Suzuki in Argentina 2019,” revealed Rins, who took his first MotoGP victory next time out in Texas. “It was there we started to talk about the next two years and the final contract we signed maybe one or two weeks ago.”One because we needed to wait because the Japanese factories have many people that need to say ‘okay’. Also the Covid-19 for sure changed things because I would have liked to announce the continuity with Suzuki at a race, if it was possible after a podium. But this is the situation now.””4The Spaniard, a double race winner last year and one of the favourites after 2020 pre-season testing, added:”I signed with Suzuki because now it’s the team that I want to be with, the same people, same mechanics… We’ve arrived at a level where – for sure when I go away I miss my home, my dogs, my girlfriend – but when I go racing it’s not difficult for me because they are like my second family. The relationship is so nice. So this is one thing.”The other is because they are growing up. The things I tested in the pre-season for 2020 were the things I asked them to develop. So I’m quite happy about this. Did I have other options? I can say that I’m lucky to have more options, but we didn’t sit with another team to talk.”Team-mate Joan Mir is tipped to soon become the sixth rider officially confirmed on the 2021 grid.
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